Mathematical instrument maker, notable for inventing the sextant. He came to London in 1740 where he worked for Jonathan Sisson and George Graham. By 1745, he had his own business in the Strand. Bird was commissioned to make a brass quadrant 8 feet across for the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, where it was mounted on 16 February 1750, and where it is still preserved. Soon after, duplicates were ordered for France, Spain and Russia.
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John Bird
Founder based in Thames Ditton. Â From Exploring Surrey's Past: The foundry was established in Summer Road, Thames Ditton, in 1874 by Cox and Sons, ecclesiastical suppliers, to cast ornaments and st...
Potter. Née Gompertz in Vienna into a rich, intellectual family. 1938 she and her husband fled Nazism intending to go to the USA but Lucie, already more interested in her work than her husband, dec...
Dressmaker. Born as Constance Kitteringham in Marham, Norfolk. Lived with her mother's grandparents, the Kitteringhams, but when her mother married Constance took her mother's married name, Gunn. ...
Businessman, inventor and manufacturer of pottery. Born Vauxhall Walk where his father was a partner in a pottery business, Doulton and Watts. Followed his brother, John junior, into the business. ...
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